European Union (International Labour Organisation Work in Fishing Convention) (Minimum Age) Regulations 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 179/2020
• Year: 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 26th May, 2020.

I, SHANE ROSS, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Article 6 of the Annex to Council Directive (EU) 2017/159 of 19 December 20161 and Article 3 of that Directive insofar as it relates to Article 6 of the Annex, hereby makes the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (International Labour Organisation Work in Fishing Convention) (Minimum Age) Regulations 2020.

2. (1) In these Regulations -

“Act of 1996” means the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 (No. 16 of 1996);

“authorised officer” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 8(1);

“competent authority” means the body designated as the competent authority under Regulation 4;

“direction” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 9;

“Directive” means Council Directive (EU) 2017/159 of 19 December 20161 ;

“fisherman” means a person over the age of 18 years who works in any capacity under a contract of employment or in an employment relationship on board a fishing vessel, including any other person engaged in activities related to fishing who is present on the same vessel in order to protect the overall health and safety of the persons on board, but does not include -

(a) a person who is a pilot within the meaning of the Harbours Act 1996 (No. 11 of 1996), or

(b) a shore person carrying out work on board a fishing vessel at the quay side;

“fishing vessel” means any ship or boat registered in the State, of any nature whatsoever, irrespective of the form of ownership, used or intended to be used for the purpose of commercial fishing;

“master” means the fisherman having command of the fishing vessel;

“Minister” means the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport;

“night work” means work on board a fishing vessel during the period commencing at 10pm and ending at 7am;

“owner” means the owner of a fishing vessel or any other organisation or person, such as the manager, agent or charterer, who has assumed responsibility for the operation of the fishing vessel from the owner.

(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.

3. These Regulations apply to fishing vessels engaged in sea fishing.

4. That part of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport which is known as the Marine Survey Office is designated as the competent authority in the State for the purposes of Article 6 of the Annex to the Directive and these Regulations.

5. (1) Notwithstanding sections 3, 6 and 9 of the Act of 1996 and subject to paragraph (2), an owner shall not employ a person under the age of 18 for work on board a fishing vessel until that person -

(a) has reached the age of 16 years, or

(b) has completed 3 years of post-primary education,

whichever occurs later.

(2) An owner may employ a person who is over the age of 15 to do light work on board a fishing vessel during school holidays provided -

(a) the hours of work do not exceed 7 hours in any day or 35 hours in any week,

(b) the work is not harmful to the safety, health and development of the person,

(c) the person does not do any work for a period of at least 21 days during the summer holidays, and

(d) the person receives the minimum rest periods referred to in section 4 of the Act of 1996, subject to the modification that a reference to a child in that section shall be construed as a reference to a person who an owner may employ under this paragraph.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), light work means -

(a) assisting with the navigation of the fishing vessel under the supervision of a fisherman, and

(b) activities relating to the manual handling and non-automated processing of catch on board the fishing vessel.

6. An owner or a master shall not require a person who is under the age of 18 to use powered machinery on board a fishing vessel without supervision by a fisherman.

7. (1) An owner or a master shall not require a person who is under the age of 18 to perform night work on board a fishing vessel.

(2) A person over the age of 16 may be required to perform night work where there are objective grounds justifying the requirement provided -

(a) the effective training of the person under an established training programme would be impaired if he or she did not perform night work, or

(b) the specific nature of the duty or an established training programme requires the person to perform duties at night and the competent authority determines that the work will not have a detrimental impact on the person’s health or well-being.

(3) Where a person referred to in paragraph (2) is required to perform night work, the owner or the master shall ensure that the objectives set out in Article 1 of Council Directive 94/33/EC2 are not called into question.

(4) The owner or the master shall ensure that a person who is required to perform night work under paragraph (2) receives appropriate compensatory rest.

(5) This Regulation shall apply notwithstanding sections 6(1)(b), 7, 8 and 9 of the Act of 1996.

8. (1) A person appointed as a surveyor of ships under section 724 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (c. 60) shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) For the purposes of ensuring compliance with these Regulations, an authorised officer may do any of the following:

(a) at all reasonable times board any...